


Rain

by Phyrefly_from_H3LL



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Can't mention the trigger without spoilers rip, Gen, I'll post pictures of Yena Luca and Yael in a deviantart stash and put a link somewhere, Multi, Origin Story, Original Character(s), Triggers, Yael only gets screentime during the training period, Yena's last name is Hyeung, also featuring OCs from my friends, but Yena is poly so who fuckin knows, but that's outside of the snk universe, may or may not contain relationships, mostly yena, since i've had her for three years already, this story is me figuring out a proper background for all three of them, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-12-14 19:08:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11789556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phyrefly_from_H3LL/pseuds/Phyrefly_from_H3LL
Summary: Yena isn't a prodigy, nor strong, nor fearless. She just wants to make something of herself, whether that something is a seasoned soldier fit to fight the monstrosities of this world or a child who's ambitions were too high for her to reach before she can be ready. In either case, no one and nothing can prepare a person to face the jaws of death on more than one occasion throughout the entirety of their life.Even when this rain stops, when the clouds go awayI stand here, just the sameWithout saying anything, looking at the worldThere, a not so beautiful me is looking at myself-Rain; BTS





	1. Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Here's a link to see what Yena, Luca, and Yael look like (fyi Yael pops up in the next chapter, and you'll find out why she's wearing an MP uniform in the drawing later on)
> 
> [https://sta.sh/2r08spp1s8k](url)
> 
> I'll probably be adding drawings to this stash related to the story, so with every new drawing I'll make sure to put the link in the newest chapter!

The streets passed in a blur, people pushed out of the way with mutters and shouts of curses and turns not so carefully planned out as with each and every market stall that was set up was crashed into, the items inside crates or on top of tables not so gracefully thrown onto the floor. Though the one responsible for this chaos paid no heed to the threats of the stall owners, her wide green eyes searching for her way out of the open and into the safety of the dark alleyways.

This was a typical day in the marketplace of Trost, and though it would usually result in a raven haired girl being caught by a Garrison officer and taken to return whatever stolen goods said girl had taken, today was not one of _those_ days. It was one of those typical days where the girl would be running not from the Garrison, but from local kids ready to slander and beat the homeless children taking refuge in the streets of Trost.

She wasn’t a victim of the fall of Wall Maria, so it escaped her mind why the children of her own hometown hated her and any other parentless, homeless child. Did they hate them because they didn’t have to follow rules? Or was it because they were more free than the kids who did have families? She couldn’t understand their reasoning. All they did if they caught up to one was call them names, throw rocks at them and usually beat them until they were a bloody and bruised mess. They never gave explanations, never gave them a reason why they were victims of this unruly behavior and why they were able to get away with it as well.

Her thoughts were cut a bit short, her ragged brown trousers snagging on a loose nail sticking out from a crate, causing her to be pulled back and trip over her own two feet. Her arms shot out in front of her face and braced for impact, ready to get up and go the moment she hit the ground, but her legs weren’t fast enough. The boys chasing her caught up to her, grabbed her by the hair and sneered. If looks could kill, the intensity of her gaze right back at them would’ve turned them inside out ten times over.

The boy holding her hair threw her roughly against the stone wall, causing the air in her lungs to feel like it was ripped out right through her mouth. She took a quick glance at her assailants; four boys roughly about her age, give or take a few years. They seemed to be regulars, ones they see everyday scouring the streets for their next victim.

She stood up, still trying to gulp down as much air as she could, fists ready to make contact with the nearest face. One of the boys barked out a laugh, his voice shrill and nasally, the worst kind of combination for a boy trying to seem tough.

“Look at her, she’s waiting for an ass beating!”

“C’mon Trent, kick her ass already! What’re you waiting for?”

She bit the inside of her cheek, knowing full well if she threw the first punch everyone would pull the blame onto her for hitting a ‘perfectly harmless citizen’ like the barbarian she, and every other street kid, was. She wanted to laugh right there and then, the thought of being labelled as a threat about as stupid as the fact these kids thought they were cleansing the streets of trash.

The boy in front of her who threw her against the wall, Trent, she assumed, took a step towards her, that sneer still plastered onto his face and she wished with all of her might that she could wipe that look off of his face without consequence. He grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, roughly pushing her up against the wall and giving her another sneer before punching her square in the cheek.

She could taste the hint of iron already filling her mouth, but instead of swallowing it back she faced the boy, spitting the contents right into his face. The boy balked for a split second before anger washed over him, giving her a swift kick to the stomach and another to her jaw the moment she doubled over.

The raven haired girl was trying her hardest not to fight back. Getting in trouble with the Garrison for stealing was one thing, but fighting back, even in self defense, was seen was a major taboo amongst those without roofs over their heads. So there she stood—or rather, curled up on the floor—taking whatever beating these kids deemed necessary to teach her a lesson for being street trash as if she had a choice in the matter.

It took no more than twenty minutes for a Garrison soldier to waltz by and inform the kids that enough was enough and that she learned her lesson for today. It seemed this was becoming a more common occurrence lately as more and more refugees from Wall Maria flooded into the streets and homes in both Wall Rose and Wall Sina. Somewhere in the back of her mind she hoped someone would take pity on her and mistake her for a refugee, giving her food of some kind and making sure she knew that none of this was her fault.

Though life was too cruel to do that for her.

She couldn’t really tell how long she was laying on the ground for; minutes, hours, it didn’t matter. She sighed as she finally decided to sit up, a possible fractured rib causing her to wince in pain. Her legs picked her up and dragged her along familiar paths of the alleyways, every step as painful as the last, though she refused to ever seek medical attention since the incident not too many years ago. The thought of what had transpired doesn’t hurt anymore, but rather makes her numb enough to bear the pain for a little while longer.

Besides, it wouldn’t be long until she could finally make use of herself in some way and be able to join the military.

After a few minutes she finally dragged herself into the metal doors of an empty storage shed located towards the left side of Trost, a makeshift home for her and a few other homeless children. They deemed it their sanctuary, and if anyone were to trespass, she would deem herself the guardian and fight to protect the rest of the kids. She felt a little sad though, the fact that in a month she would be leaving, passing the title of guardian to a boy a year or so younger than her that she had helped teach how to fight. He wasn’t helpless, but all the same she didn’t think he was ready to protect the nine kids who took refuge in this small space.

She pulled the thin sheet of metal aside, tumbling into the space and ready to fall onto the gray floor without a care in the world anymore. Arms shot out to catch her though, struggling to make sure both children don’t go plummeting to the ground while another child rushes to close the door before checking on their elder.

“Those bastards did it again, didn’t they?” A boy asked, pulling the raven haired girl to the comfort of the makeshift bed made out of hay and cloth. The girl who closed the door immediately went to the ravenette, wide brown eyes scanning her form and checking for injuries. “Yena, are you sure you don’t want to go to a doctor?”

The boy stared at Yena, worry flecked in his bright hazel eyes. The girl shook her head, attempting to sit up but both children forced her to lay back down. “I’m fine. If anything, they’re just bruises that hurt way too goddamn much.”

“She’s right,” the other girl sighed in relief. “There’s nothing broken, thankfully. Luca, do you think you’d be able to get some water from somewhere?”

“There’s a lady nearby,” Yena groaned, shifting her position to finally sit up like she wanted to. “Three houses down from the first left turn. She knows who we are and won’t mind helping.”

The boy, Luca, nodded, his unkempt light brown hair shifting with the movement. Immediately he was out the door, the girl leaving Yena’s side to light a candle and illuminating the room in a warm orange glow.

“The others are out trying to get food or other supplies,” she muttered, concern etched into the features of her young face. Yena watched as the girl stared at the metal doors, eyebrows furrowing as always when the blonde haired girl went into deep thought. Most likely thinking of scenarios, both good and bad, for reasons as to why some of the kids were late. Looking out the window, the green eyed girl was able to only see a sliver of the sky, unblocked from the fifty meter high wall separating them from the jaws of death. 

That was a funny thing, she thought, that no matter how much humanity tried to fight back, or how much ‘progress’ they would assume they’ve gotten, all the hard work would backfire and force humanity back into a literal corner. The fact that no matter who was dubbed brave or stupid enough, those of the military were only looking for ways to protect themselves or close family, not in the slightest concerned for the whole of humanity. They were, in all sense of the word, absolutely terrified of Titans.

And yet Yena thought that fighting them was the only option she had left to make something out of her pathetic excuse of a life. Though in a way, she was no different than those selfish bastards of the military. She wanted to protect her family, and though none of them were blood related, these ragged kids in the streets of Trost were her family. She would do everything in her power and more to protect them, to keep them safe from the jaws of death once again.

The sky was painted with hues of blue, orange, and red, indicating the afternoon was almost over and soon the sun would disappear behind the horizon and shroud the world in darkness. Yena turned her head back to the girl in front of her, green hues meeting those of brown, and she was able to see the worry and concern and fear swimming deep inside those chocolate colored irises. There was no denying, that if given the chance the girl in front of her would follow in Yena’s footsteps and join the military as well. She had a great urge to protect everyone she could, and though she wasn’t one to fight like her green eyed friend, she would still train under the harsh conditions to become a medic, just like her father used to be.

Just thinking of the girl’s father made Yena want to throw the man over the wall and watch as Titans devoured him. The poor girl had no other choice but to run away from home because of the bastard. The girl herself hadn’t really told Yena the whole story, but from what had been gathered so far, the father became an alcoholic and began to abuse both the girl and her mother.

“Selma.”

The blonde girl snapped out of her scenarios, looking over to her raven haired guardian with a tilt of her head.

Yena sighed, closing her eyes to rid her mind of the vile man and motioning for the girl to come over. “Stop standing there. It’s not like they’ll get here any sooner if you wait by the door. Come sit down.”

Selma bit her lip and nodded, walking over to the makeshift bed and sitting delicately next to the ravenette, ready to spring back up if anyone came back through the door. Selma was biting her lip ever more harshly, and Yena knew that the girl had something on her mind that she wanted to talk about. The ravenette placed a hand on the blonde’s shoulder, squeezing ever so slightly to reassure her that whatever needed to be talked about would remain between them. The blonde gave out a tired sigh.

“Luca’s planning on joining the military with you.”

“I’m sure he wants a good ass beating too, then,” Yena retorted, brows creasing and a scowl making its way onto her features. “There’s no way in fucking hell I’ll allow that. He’s needed here, to protect you guys—”

“What if we don’t need protecting?” Selma’s brown hues looked up, scanning the ivory colored face of her friend. “Yena, we can all protect each other, we don’t need one set person to act as some kind of leader. You’ve seen how we work when you’re too beaten up to help out, and we’re perfectly fine. You underestimate us.”

“I also worry,” the ravenette mumbled. “I’m the oldest one out of all of you. I feel like it’s my responsibility to take care of you guys.”

Selma shook her head, her messy ponytail waving around in the air. “But you’re not responsible for us. We’re our own people. We just so happened to have found this place in hopes to have a home.” The blonde let out a breath, eyes closing for just a moment before staring up at the ceiling. “I encouraged Luca to go with you. You’re not the only one who wants to protect people.”

It was true, Luca had a strong admiration for those of the Scouting Legion, the people of the military who venture outside the walls to protect and fight for humanity. Yena did too, and the majority of the kids who lived in the shed knew that the Scouting Legion was where Yena’s goal resided. That still had her biting the inside of her cheek, scrunching her face up when images of a brutal death of either her or her friend at the jaws of a Titan. It scared her, both scenarios, but when it came down to it she had no control over another’s decisions. She’d let it be, and hope that both of the eldests of these ragtag group of kids leaving didn’t hinder their ability to survive. It would take three years, and after that she hoped to return and be able to see them again.

It was an understatement to say leaving them behind made her sad. It was more than that, and so much could happen in the span of three years that she hoped no harm would come of any of them. But yet again, life was cruel and never willing to be nice to those who already has had it rough. Sure they were lucky to have survived this long on the streets, and they would be damned if they let the departure of two of their comrades be the death of them all. She knew they were strong, in more ways than one, and she’d never want it to seem like she doubts it.

Another couple of minutes of silence befell the two girls before Luca came back with another boy trailing behind him, both carrying buckets of fresh water courtesy of the woman a few houses down. Yena knew the boy, not by name, but has seen his face plenty of times when passing by the woman’s house. He looked about a year or two younger than herself, and though he did associate himself with the group of boys who scoured the streets for the homeless, it was usually never in a positive light and more so than not she would always find him fighting the group over various reasons.

The boy took notice of Yena for just a split second, and she was able to see the recognition in his eyes, though they had never spoken. After dropping off the bucket, Luca gave the boy a thanks and off he went. The brunette grabbed a glass they kept in an old dresser, dunking it into the bucket of water before taking it over to the two girls. “Drink,” was all the boy said, and Selma gave the ravenette a look as if to say ‘drink all of it, you need it’. With a breath the green eyed girl downed the clear liquid, feeling it moisten her dry throat and she let out a groan of satisfaction, handing the glass back to the boy as he goes to get another glassful of water. Yena made a mental note to try and get them a new glass sometime soon.

After a few more minutes of comfortable silence and the two others in the room taking their own respective drinks of water, the rest of the group of kids started to filter in one by one, some with food and clothes, others with bruises just as bad as Yena’s. The ravenette got off the bed to allow the kids a place to sit and lay, while she took it upon herself to help portion out the small amount of food to each of the nine children that thankfully managed to make it back home. She looked at each and every one of their faces, a wave of guilt and sadness of the events that will transpire in the upcoming month. She will miss all of them greatly, but what Yena’s plans were for the future, only had these kids’ safety in mind.

But as mentioned before, life was too cruel to allow the best things to happen to those who have it the worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this! I know this isn't reader insert or focused more on the main cast, but it's a story I've been wanting to tell for the longest time. It's a story I've never been able to figure out, or jot down because I've just never had the time. I'd be happy knowing if this interests anybody, and even if not, then I'll still be writing this for my own enjoyment. Thank you!


	2. Of Odd Encounters

There was something familiar in the way Yena ran through the streets of Trost, and though she couldn’t put a finger on it, it was similar to the day she was informed her brunette friend Luca would be joining her in the military. But this time she wasn’t being chased, rather, she was letting out the mix of excitement and nervousness in the only way she knew how.

Though a month isn’t much time to change a person, Yena was more weary of the people she ran past. She didn’t want their last memory of her to be her pushing them aside, only to be brought up later on in life once she’s out of training. You know, like savoring the best piece of a meal after all of the other relatively moderate flavors.

Like the ravenette would know about that, really, but that was what came to her mind and pretty soon she made it back around to the shed she called home, a sweaty, matted mess. Most of the kids were inside, hoping to get as much quality time with the two oldest of their group even though one of them took a run for about half an hour. Yena pushed the metal door open to be greeted by the sight of five unruly kids clinging onto her brunette friend as if their lives depended on it.

And if you asked her opinion, she would agree.

But nobody asked, so she settled for a sigh instead and shuffled inside, garnering the attention of the bawling kids and being the next victim of who they cling on to. She didn’t mind it though, her whole being screamed for her to stay, to protect these kids for the rest of her life, but she knew she couldn’t and knew that what she decided was the next best way to protect these children.

Children. They were nothing but children, subjected to the horrors and the bane of life itself. Most no older than ten years old, and once Yena and Luca leave, Selma would be the oldest, at twelve. Was this really a life worth living at such a young age?

That question was the first on the girl’s mind every day she woke up for the past eight years. Was living on the streets to fend for yourself at six years old really a life to live? Who was cruel enough to allow this to happen? Why did no one put a stop to it? Why did so many kids have to suffer at the hands of the sadistic creature called fate? Where were their parents?

Yena knew where hers were. Six feet in the ground, if they were even buried at all.

Green eyes scanned the space she called home for the past four years, catching the hazel hues of her comrade who just watched, the same look of guilt and nostalgia hidden away beneath the flecks of brown and green as she probably had in hers. She noticed he was already packed with what little items he had or food the others probably got for him as a meal for the road. She needed to pack as well, though making a mental list of all the items she had, there was none. She had nothing. Luca seemed to sense her mild distress, meeting her eyes with a soft smile and pulling another small bag from beside him.

“We packed a lunch for you too, if you wanna eat it now or later is up to you.”

“We leave in an hour.”

“Have we ever eaten warm food, Yena?” the brunette raised a brow, a playful smirk on his lips as he stood up and tossed the bag to the raven haired in front of him.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Yena snorted. “I mean we leave in an hour, why are we all packed up already?”

Luca shrugged, slinging his own bag over his shoulder. “We’ll have to go check in soon and wait over by the gate. I saw a few people already making their way over there. Who knows who else from Trost will be there with us.”

He had a point, in order to get there with the least amount of struggle and wait, they’d have to leave soon or else wait for the next chance to get into training. Yena ran a hand through her hair, a sigh escaping her lips as she looked around. All the other kids seemed to realize what they meant, faces sullen if not swollen from crying. Another pang of guilt hit Yena’s chest, and she wanted so badly to take each and every one of them with her.

“We’ll be back,” she spoke softly, as if any louder and her voice might shatter some of the kids around her. “In three years, we’ll be back. You can wait for us and be sad, or you can take this opportunity to become strong, and maybe join us too, if you want.”

Some of the kids’ eyes lit up, as if hearing those words ensured everything was going to be fine. Luca gave Yena a look, one she couldn’t quite calculate herself, but it was gone just as quickly as it came as his eyes flitted from one child to another. Though he didn’t live there for as long as some of them did, he still loved each and every one of these kids like his own flesh and blood. He wanted to be stronger for them, to be someone they can look up to without any regret.

He wanted to be their hero.

The brunette sighed and walked over to Yena, peeling away the last few children who clung to her and giving her arm a squeeze. “Let’s go, they won’t wait for us.”

The ravenette nodded silently, giving the children one last smile goodbye before turning on her heel, both of them walking together as the rest of the children gathered by the metal doors, waving and yelling their goodbyes. Selma stood behind them all, giving her friends silent wishes of well-being.

※※※※

It was hot.

Undeniably hot.

Holy fucking shit it was fucking hot.

All the new recruits stood at attention, shiny new clothes heavy and chafing against their skin as the sun beat down on them all mercilessly. It was little short of torture.

The raven haired girl rolled her shoulders slightly, shifting underneath the heavy weight of her uniform jacket. In the back of her mind she slightly worried about how presentable she looked in the short amount of time they had to get dressed in their new uniforms and get in rank, and she was honestly grateful she ate on the way over to the training grounds. Inside the bag she was given was not only lunch, but a new shirt that she could only assume the kids had stolen off of a clothes line just for her. It was a plain blue loose top, she assumed belonged to a male, as it was a bit baggy on her person, but she didn’t mind.

She stayed facing forward, eyes darting from left to right to scan the rows in front of her. Their instructor, Keith Shadis, was an unholy being from the depths of hell, going down the ranks and shouting recruits' heads off until they shit their pants and started crying. He would skip over some, those who never flinched, who she assumed had seen the gates of hell and made it back just to go back and wreak havoc.

One row in front of her, four people to the left, she found Luca, standing tall with his best salute, and she only hoped that if Shadis were to stop in front of him she wouldn’t break rank and start laughing. Yena and Luca were nothing short of close friends, though all the kids in that shed back in Trost were close, there were just a few things about these two kids that made them feel more like family.

And what’s a family if you can’t laugh at your friend looking like he’ll piss his pants from the spawn of Satan himself? It was only logical. But with how sporadic Shadis’ verbal beatdowns were, she couldn’t tell how long it would take for him to pass by or even whether he would yell at both her and her companion. At the moment the man was busy headbutting a poor copper haired kid, one she recognized as a local from Trost.

While that was going on a few rows up front, Yena decided to take a look at the two recruits beside her for the hell of it. Her green eyes moved to the left, head shifting ever so slightly to take in the sight of a taller boy with brown hair in the shape of a messy bowl cut, bright cherry brown eyes and nervousness etched into his face. She felt a little bad for him if Shadis came around, the poor guy looked like he’d cry the moment someone so much as glared at him.

Yena peeled her eyes away from the nervous wreck of a boy and turned slightly to her right, taking note of a girl more or less her height, dark brown tresses pulled into a messy ponytail and the most carefree expression the ravenette had ever seen. At a glance it looked like the brunette’s blue eyes were just scanning the crowd just as Yena had done, but quickly following the girl’s line of sight, it immediately dawned on the raven haired that the girl next to her was looking at people’s _asses_. Well, she guessed that was _one thing_ to do while standing here and waiting.

She sighed, eyes back up front and noticing that her gazing took a bit longer than expected, as Shadis seemed to have gained on them, just a row ahead. She kept watch, emerald eyes glued to her friend in front of her and wished with all her might she wouldn’t have to run laps for the next three years for even the smallest chuckle. 

She was in luck, the Hell Instructor strolling right past Luca and to the girl right next to him. Yena let out the smallest of sighs, listening in on the not so quiet conversation.

“WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU, DICK NUGGET?!” Such graceful pet names, the ravenette thought.

“Yael Metz, of Krolva, sir!!” The girl shouted, ashy blonde hair blocking the view Yena had of her face. But if she were to guess, the girl was probably shaking on the spot right now.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU HERE FOR, MOUNTAIN GOAT?”

“To work in service for the king, sir!!” Oh, she was one of _those_ people.

Shadis slammed his palm on top of the girl’s head, making her knees buckle and struggle to keep herself up. The bald man was relentless, shoving his face directly in front of hers and eyes seemingly boring into her soul. “The king doesn’t need another ass kissing sack of dicks to work for him. HE NEEDS A REAL SOLDIER!!” And with that, he was on to the next one.

It didn’t take long for Shadis to make his way to the bowl cut boy right next to her, his booming voice almost making her jump. “WHAT ABOUT YOU, SOUP BOWL?!”

Yena’s eyes glanced at the boy, his face already sweating and eyes misty, and if she could she would’ve patted him on the back for trying to be tough.

“I-I’m Alessandro Villa, sir! I’m here to be of service to humanity!”

“SO YOU WANT TO BE TITAN SHIT WHEN YOU GRADUATE?!”

“N-no sir! I—”

“OR ARE YOU HERE TO BECOME WALL MAINTENANCE?!”

“I—”

“SPEAK THE FUCK UP SOLDIER! I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR SHY LITTLE PISS ANTS!” And off he went.

In front of Yena.

Fuck.

“WHAT ABOUT YOU, FAIRY SHIT?!”

Yena took a breath, straightening her back and tightening her salute. “Yena of Trost, sir! I’m here to protect those I love and fight for the freedom of humanity!”

“SO YOU WANT TO BE TITAN SHIT TOO, HUH? WHERE’S YOUR LAST NAME SOLDIER?”

She bit the inside of her cheek, “I don’t have one, sir.” Without missing a beat, her mouth opened again, hating the way those eyes beat down on her like the little shits from Trost did, the way they thought they were so high and mighty. Looking back on it, she wished she could punch herself in the face.

“If I need one, you can come up with one yourself.”

It was quiet. Everyone around her gave her a look of utter disbelief. She talked back to the instructor. She was going to die, right then, right there.

Oh, fuck.

“Is that sass in your tone, soldier?” Shadis’ voice toned down a couple of decibels, and Yena could’ve sworn she heard the devil cackling in her ears. “Alright then, if you want me to give you a last name, then how about SHIT EATER?!”

It felt as if the impact the raven haired felt ripped her spine and all of her internal organs out from her back, and it took her a second to register that Shadis had actually punched her. She fell down to the floor, doubling over and curling in on herself to make the pain subside a bit.

He moved on after that, skipping over the dark brunette girl next to her and started yelling at some other poor sod somewhere down the line. It took a good minute for the ravenette to get back up, her whole abdomen feeling like it was on fire and trying to bite back tears. In front of her, a little ways off, she could see the hazel hues of her friend, a look of sympathy on his face before he faced back forward. The words ‘about face’ were shouted, and Yena took another glimpse at her friend before turning around with the rest of her line, a small hum escaping the lips of the girl next to her who managed to escape the instructor from hell.

“Yena Shit-Eater has a nice ring to it, ya know?”

“Please shut up,” the raven haired groaned. “If anyone brings that up later I won’t hesitate to beat their ass.”

The brunette smirked, eyes traveling somewhere behind Yena. “Speaking of ass…”

Casually, as if she had been doing this for years, the brunette leaned over, slapping her hand _hard_ onto the surface of Yena’s butt, causing her to widen her eyes with a yelp. She whipped her head to face the brunette, who was still facing forward as if she didn’t just violate the girl next to her.

She actually smacked her ass without a care in the world.

“My name’s Liubov,” she scrunched her face for a second before continuing, “but call me Liu.”

Yena blinked, unbelieving of this girl next to her. Is that really how she introduces herself to everyone? Or was this a special case? Yena didn’t really want to know, but she still eyed Liu carefully before looking forward again, Shadis’ voice warning them that he was coming close again and she did _not_ want another punch to the gut.

The ravenette sighed. _Guess this is my life now._

※※※※

Yena was eternally grateful for those kids in the shed back in Trost. Not only did they get her a new shirt, but also a new pair of pants, also probably stolen from a clothes line. She felt presentable, at least more so than she used to be. The same was for Luca, who wore a new-ish tan button up and black trousers.

Speaking of Luca, it seemed the boy made friends with the girl that Shadis used as a hand rest right next to him. Yael, the ravenette believed, wasn’t that bad of a person, despite wanting to hide inside the inner wall and play the part of soldier, though Yena couldn’t really blame her. Or most of the kids here, really. Seemed like most of them wanted a safe place inside the walls, whether it be Garrison or Military Police. But the problem was that not all of these poor sods would be able to achieve their dream of ‘being of service to the king’, whatever that meant. Only ten select people would be able to join the rat bastards that hide inside the king’s wall, and god knows why any of them would want to seclude themselves like that, as if hiding away from the Titans was the only way to get rid of them.

Sometimes it was hard for Yena to suppress the urge to punch some of the shit eating grins off of these kids faces, and though she wouldn’t be in trouble with the law anymore, she didn’t want to risk the chance of another smackdown from Shadis. Though at the moment, that urge was aimed directly at that copper haired boy who got his skull shattered earlier today, who was talking the same shit as every other trainee ready to go into the MP at a mop of brown hair who was oh so happily telling stories of his recollections of the fall of Wall Maria.

“Calm down there, O Great Bringer of Justice,” Luca mocked. “You can feel the murderous intent coming off of you from the top of Wall Rose.”

“Why don’t you go talk to your girlfriend then?” Yena retorted, raising a playful brow at her friend. “I heard you two flirting with each other back in rank.”

Luca flushed crimson, the brunette banging his fists against the table. “Sh-she’s not my girlfriend! What about _your_ girlfriend, huh? I saw her slap your ass earlier!”

Yena’s face matched that of the brunette, brows scrunching up at the memory. “I did not give my consent to be violated!”

“Then you better give your consent or make a sexual abuse report, because I think she’s coming over here.” Luca pointed off to the side, and as emerald eyes followed the direction, there she spotted Liu dragging the boy who stood next to the ravenette earlier, almost dropping his tray of food at the harshness he was being pulled along.

“Hi Yena!” Liu chirped. “This is Ally, he had a nice booty too so I thought it’d be nice to make friends!” Alessandro looked like he was ready to burst, face completely flushed as he nodded in greeting at the two sitting down at the table.

“Alessandro, right? My name is Luca, it’s nice to meet you,” the brunette smiled, turning his gaze in question to Liu. “And what about you?”

“I’m Liubov Havock, but just call me Liu.” The dark brunette placed her tray down next to Yena as Alessandro placed his down next to Luca. “So what were you guys talking about? Crushes? Or crushing people? I like both!”

Yena stared at the girl next to her for a good minute before sighing. “Nothing, really. I was just eavesdropping on the asshole over there trying to instigate a fight with the suicidal bastard.”

“Since there’s not much else to do, I guess,” Luca shrugged, taking in a spoonful of the flavorless slop they had for food. “I was kinda hoping they’d really go at it, to be honest.”

“I was kinda hoping they made out,” Liu shrugged, causing Yena to choke on her bread. She was always pretty good at visualizing things, which could be a bad thing considering she now had a pretty vivid image in her head of that copper haired boy making out with the aqua eyed brunette.

Hey, at fourteen it wasn’t that bad of an image if she would say so herself.

Hormones aside, that’s not what she was here for, though she would encourage it. She was here to be able to become strong enough to protect her family of ragged kids back in Trost at all costs, not to focus on the abundance of attractive guys and girls. And when she says abundance, she really means ‘ _holy fucking hell there’s way too many attractive people here what the fuck did i not get the memo???_ ’ kind of abundance.

The ravenette took a breath to calm herself, leaning back from the table and letting out a frustrated yell, causing a few people from the tables around them to turn around and stare. This was definitely not her day, but she assumed it was at least better than the days she’d get the shit beaten out of her just for being homeless.

With that thought she became curious, looking around the mess hall to see if she knew any of the faces here. She could make out a few, though she didn’t know any of their names, and she was glad to see that none of the local bullies were here, or if they were that they already left with the group of trainees that couldn’t take the verbal beatdown that Shadis had inflicted upon them. She was surprised to see a familiar blond haired boy, the one who she would often times see at the house of the woman who would help them out, the same one who helped bring them water. He also was one of the victims of Keith Shadis, and if she had heard right, then she believed his name was Thomas.

Other than that, there weren’t as many familiar faces as she thought there would be, but she guessed that was a good thing. She didn’t need too many people here knowing how ragged and messy she was. She let out a breath, listening to the three people at her table talk amongst themselves and couldn’t help but think that this might be their little group of friends for now on. It didn’t sound like a bad idea, and in her opinion the more the merrier. It wasn’t like she felt the need to compete with anyone here, she wasn’t trying to contend for top ten and she didn’t feel the need to have to try for it either if her goal wasn’t the Military Police.

That brought her mind to the boy with the aqua colored eyes, who you could feel the fire that burns within him, but she couldn’t understand why he felt compelled that he _had to_ compete for top ten. As long as you work hard for yourself and not try to be a show-off, you were good, right? Maybe she was just lazy, but she still promised herself she would try her damnedest, whether that gets here even near the top percentile of the class or not.

“Earth to Yena!” Liu waved a hand in front of the raven haired, causing her to break free of her thoughts and blink curiously at the girl next to her. “We thought we lost you there for a sec.”

“Why, what’s up?” Yena asked, looking at the three at her table.

“We asked you if you’re ready for the academics classes we have to take,” Luca raised a brow at his friend. “You.. _do_ know how to read.. Right?”

Yena has lived on the streets for the majority of her life, since she was six years old, learned how to take care of herself and others, and how to fight and steal and _survive_.

She did not know how to read.

“Oh _fuck_ me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Liu and Alessandro belong to two of my friends, but I'll draw them soon and add them to the stash. Thank you for reading this chapter!


	3. Curiosity

Yena had a pretty vague feeling that this year’s summer was a tad bit hotter than it normally was, and that maybe slowly the earth is heating up and eventually it’ll get so hot that every living being will probably catch on fire and die, and if Titans weren’t dead before then, they certainly would be by then. But so would humanity, so that wasn’t really a pro to the earth possibly melting but rather a con. In any case, all she knew was that it was really fucking hot and she had to stand there at the mercy of the unforgiving sun and under the piercing gaze of Satan’s own flesh and blood, these awkward bondage-like straps pulling a little too tightly at her skin underneath her clothes as she waited for her turn to be pulled up by a seat-less swing.

What a fuckin’ day.

Of course, she knew this was necessary to test balance and whether someone would actually be fit to be a soldier other than them believing that they can. Anybody could pretend to play soldier, but if they couldn’t pass the balance test to start ODM Gear training then they can’t continue with training.

She took a moment to look at the contraptions in front of them, noting the few trainees dangling from the wires and how most struggled. The one at the end though was completely still, as if she were simply standing, and the amount of awed stares she was getting seemed too brazen in Yena’s opinion. But the raven haired that had the attention of most didn’t seem at all fazed, and whether she had all the attention or no attention at all, it seemed she had only one thing she was concentrated on, though Yena couldn’t point it out from her position.

She let a ghost of a breath escape her lips, rolling her shoulders to get the heavy piece of leather that weighed her down to feel a tad bit more comfortable. It took no more that five minutes, at most, for each trainee to be brought to the contraption, lifted up, evaluated, and let back down. Of course those who failed were instructed to wait for the rest who haven’t gone yet, and afterwards try again. Once you were cleared you were allowed to mosey on over to the mess hall for the hell of it or get started on any other important business at hand.

For Yena, the latter is what bothered her. After evaluation for her, she would have to report to a room inside the academics building for beginner classes, and though she really did need the help before they started passing around written tests, the sheer embarrassment of having to openly admit that she couldn’t read made her want to fling herself into the sun using the weird swing set.

The thought of embarrassment had, sadly, led her to embarrassment though. In her state of deep thought her hands had managed to find her hair and rub the absolute shit out of it with a frustrated sigh, causing a few trainees around her to give her such lovingly judgmental stares, one of which belonged to a certain freckled brown eyed boy.

“Nervous?” The boy implored, a soft smile gracing his lips. The ravenette glanced up at the boy, blinking hues of green before she noticed what she was doing and dropping her hands down to her sides with a sigh.

“Just a bit,” she lied. “You?”

The boy hummed in confirmation, looking back up at the trainees currently being tested. “It’s a bit scary to think about, being pulled off the ground and only hoping you don’t flip over and bang your head on the floor. Kinda like that Jaeger guy did.”

The boy let out a small laugh, and for a second Yena couldn’t figure out what was funny but laughed with him anyway.

“You’re Yena, right? I kept hearing gossip about how you’re the one who sassed back Instructor Shadis.” Yena wanted to punch anyone who spread that news, including the boy in front of her. “I’m Marco, it’s nice to meet you.” The thought was instantly banished once she got a look at how big his smile was, a smile that could end wars and cure any illness, she mused quietly.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Yena nodded. “You hang out with that asshole who wants to join the Military Police right? Why be friends with that dude?”

Marco laughed again, dark brown eyes scanning the crowds before landing on said copper haired boy. “Jean’s not that bad of a person if you get passed the way he talks. He’s just a little too blunt, is all. Besides, joining the Military Police would give us a chance to be able to change the way they run things.”

Yena just eyed the boy next to her before taking her sights back up front. If she was honest, she was a bit scared about using the weird swing set. She saw the way Eren Jaeger just plummeted straight back to the ground as if gravity was just so in love with him it had to have him back. Everyone else was relatively good at finding a way to balance themselves, and those who didn’t only ever flipped upside down instead of bashing their skull against the ground. She wondered if her friends had gone yet, and if they did, if they had passed. Surely instinct would kick in once it was her turn and she’d be able to stand—or sit, in one brunette girl’s case—without accident.

She was brought back out of her reverie once a familiar name was shouted out by another instructor, watching with curiosity as her hazel eyed friend was brought up to the contraption and strapped in.

He made it look like he had done this before, as if he had so much experience just being hoisted up into the air by two wires as he just hung there, body almost as still as the raven haired girl had been earlier, and Yena couldn’t help the twinge of jealousy that bubbled up inside of her chest. Not too long later and the boy was let back down, a couple of trainees here and there fawning over him as if he was some deity.

It was safe to assume that the ravenette finally understood why everyone felt the need to compete with each other. And though competition was all good and healthy to keep you at the top of your game, she still thought that allies were more important than enemies.

“Marco Bott!” The instructor called again, and the freckled boy next to Yena gave her another smile before filing through the crowd of teens and heading up to where Luca had just been. The girl let out another frustrated sigh, deciding to look around again and noticing Liu up on the wires of the machine just next to the one Yena was assigned to. Her balance was top notch, and though she could manage being perfectly still, the dark brunette swung lightly back and forth and looked ready to sing a tune.

It took a couple more trainees until it was Yena’s turn, and immediately nervousness washed over her. As she was being strapped in, she repeated assurances to herself like a mantra and looked up from the ground to catch a reassuring smile from Marco. She began to be lifted from the ground, the sudden empty feeling of the ground missing beneath her causing her mild panic, arms and legs flailing for a bit until she managed to calm down and focus.

Focus.

It never hurt this much just to focus.

The straps around her body pulled at her skin in ways she never even felt before, it was uncomfortable and painful and she wanted it to end soon. She could feel herself teetering backwards just a bit and tried to pull herself forwards to straighten herself again and hope she could keep that position and be let down already.

Unfortunately she pulled herself just a little too far forwards, causing her whole body to flip upside down like a cloth being hung up to dry. So there she was, upside down and humility and shame apparent underneath the flush of her skin as her comrades all around her giggled and laugh at her failure.

What a goddamn day this is turning out to be.

※※※※

Two hours, trying to hide inside herself like a turtle, reassuring pats on the back from the freckled boy, and another successful try later, Yena found herself standing outside the door of a room inside the academics building, a sign hanging on it that said ‘beginner’ that would’ve made her laugh due to the fact that those who need to come here won’t even be able to read that sign. The reason she knew what it said was thanks to the help of both her hazel eyed friend and the freckled boy she managed to also befriend even though the whole time she was only pitying herself.

She held a breath as she pushed the door open, half expecting there to be only a handful of people. There was, but to her surprise there were at least more than fifteen people inside the classroom, some of which were probably there for moral support just like Luca and Marco were for Yena, even though she almost pleaded for neither of them to come, but Luca was too stubborn and Marco too much of a saint to let her go in embarrassment by herself. Damn them.

She didn’t spend too much time looking at the faces of the people in the room, quickly making her way to an empty table closest to the door with her two chaperones trailing after her. There was a good twenty minutes before the lessons started, and she was positive all the people who didn’t _need_ to be there would have to leave eventually. No matter how much part of her wanted these two boys to stay, she also didn’t want them realizing how illiterate she really was.

“You got everything you need?” Luca asked, tilting his head slightly in question to the raven haired sitting in front of him.

Yena rolled her eyes, making it a point straighten her notebook and papers in front of the brunette. “Yes, mom, I do.”

Marco gave a chuckle, leaning against the table and searching the items the girl had placed on the desk. “How about a pencil?”

She paused for a moment, eyes scanning the objects in front of her as if she’d never seen them before, a rush of panic flooding her system as she started sifting through papers and her person as if the previously mentioned object were merely playing a game of hide and seek and she really didn’t forget the one most important thing she needed for a classroom setting.

Luca only sighed heavily as Marco seemed to have pulled the utensil out of his breast pocket like the holy being he was. “You dropped it earlier. It’s a good thing we decided to come along, right?”

Yena took the pencil before dropping her head, ready to bang it against the table. “I owe you one, Marco. Thanks.”

A couple minutes more of Luca’s nagging and Marco’s constant smiles and they eventually left, with all the other trainees who didn’t really need to be there. After filtering out the others there really only were a handful of them, maybe less than ten of them, that needed these classes. Yena decided to look around as an instructor walked in and got himself comfortable.

Immediately she was met with aqua colored eyes staring back at her quizzically. The infamous Eren Jaeger, who’s already made a name for himself as the 104th’s ‘suicidal bastard’ and head covered in bandages from who knows how many times he failed at the ODM Gear balance test, was here in the beginner class, where only people who were strictly or very limitedly illiterate were required to attend, sitting in the table next to her.

Staring at her.

Did she have something on her face?

Immediately her hands went up to her cheeks, patting her face to make sure everything was in place before the instructor started speaking, calling for everyone’s attention. She’d have to ask him what was so intriguing later.

The lecture was boring, not even teaching the kids here how to read or write, and more so about the importance of literacy and why it was necessary for everyday life. Though her argument was that when everyday life consisted of the need to hunt for food and making sure you lived to see another day, literacy wasn’t exactly at the top of the list. So instead she decided to drown out the annoying voice of the instructor and try to focus on figuring out how to hold a pencil and draw, just like she used to in the dirt. It took her exactly twenty-five minutes to find a comfortable way to hold the pencil, and immediately she began to drag the utensil across her paper, making lines and shapes and doodling in random spots. She paused and thought of what to draw next, deciding to draw a portrait of one of the kids from the shed, thanking her memory for not already making their faces fuzzy in her head.

The drawing was going well until she heard a loud smack, pencil digging into the paper and marring the drawing, making her look up into the irritated eyes of the instructor.

“Cadet Yena, am I boring you?”

If she could she’d run right out of that classroom and far away from the imploring stares of both instructor and trainees. “N-no, sir.”

“Then pay attention.”

The man instantly went back to his lecture, as if it was never interrupted in the first place. Yena decided to just rest her head in her palm, pretend to listen and probably fidget with her writing utensil.

The last ten minutes of the class was the only actual time they needed to write anything, writing out the whole alphabet and figuring out which letters could spell out their names. The instructor left the trainees after that, informing them that they indeed did have homework of writing out each letter of the alphabet ten times. Most of the kids ran out of the room almost right after the instructor did, rushing to the mess hall for dinner.

Yena took her time, gathering her items and taking a look at her ruined drawing for a minute before a voice in front of her interrupted her staring contest with the inanimate object. “Who’s that?”

Emerald eyes glanced up, taking in the brunette’s curious look before looking back down at her paper. “Someone I know. What’s it to you?”

Eren furrowed his brows, a scowl forming on his face that the ravenette noted wasn’t very out of place for him. “Just asking. For someone who doesn’t know how to write you’re pretty good at drawing.”

Yena shrugged, “I used to draw in the dirt a lot whenever I got the chance. What about you? You haven’t been homeless for too long, why don’t you know how to write?”

Eren’s face relaxed a bit, though his brows were still furrowed as if he was concentrating on something. “I never really needed to read or write anything. The only thing I ever read was a book Armin has of the outside world and even then I only know a few words.”

Yena tilted her head slightly, curiosity shining in flecks of green. “A book of the outside? What’s in it?”

Eren seemed to have realized he said too much, eyes widening and looking around frantically before leaning close and professed in a hushed tone. “I’ll tell you about it later. You want to join the Scouting Legion too, right?” Yena nodded. “I think anyone who’s joining should really look at it, it’s almost mesmerizing.” With a grin, Eren was out the door, leaving Yena the last one in the classroom trying to think of what contents could possibly lie within that book. She knew books on the outside world were prohibited, and anyone caught with one could face serious charges, but for what reason? Was there something to hide? 

Her brain was a little too tired to try and process any of these questions so she resigned herself to grab all of her things and walk out the door, almost bumping into her brunette friend’s chest on the way out.

“You look like you’ve just undergone like, ten hours of verbal abuse.”

“Has it _not_ been ten hours? It sure felt like it.”

Luca only laughed, escorting the ravenette to the girls’ dorm. “I’ll be waiting for you in the mess hall with Alessandro and Liu. See you.”

Yena nodded to the boy and watched him walk off before entering the dorms, deciding to change out of the heavy uniform and into something a bit more comfortable. She stashed the papers and notebook into the small bag she had brought with her, not noticing the other figure in the room until they spoke out to her.

“Hey, I noticed you didn’t sleep on any of the beds,” a raven haired girl in pigtails jumped off of one of the bunk beds, making her way over to Yena with a smile. “If you don’t mind me asking, why is that?”

If memory served her right, this girl was Mina Carolina, another girl who didn’t concern herself with the top ten. Yena gave her a smile back, shaking her head. “I guess out of habit, I slept against the walls. Which one of the beds are open?”

Mina lit up, taking hold of Yena’s wrist and dragging her deeper into the room, pointing out vacant beds that would’ve been occupied had some of the recruits on the first day stayed. She was a very cheery girl, optimism pouring out of every pore in her being, pretty much, and Yena couldn’t help but compare her to that of a small bunny. She kept talking, whether Yena was listening or not, but there was such a friendliness to the girl that you couldn’t help but stop and listen to whatever it was she had to say.

“—and when we came back in, I guess you were still at the mess hall? But apparently Sasha somehow was able to steal about six loaves of bread! How in the world could she have done that?”

The two girls sat in one of the beds, Yena assumed it was the bed she was going to take, that was directly under Mina’s bed. She didn’t mind, and after years of not sleeping in a proper bed Yena could only describe the comfort of it as heaven.

“Oh! We should probably get dinner, huh? C’mon!” Mina was up, dragging Yena along again and honestly she didn’t mind it at all.

They entered the mess hall and Mina had been able to convince Yena to sit with her and some of the other girls, so with a quick word with the three that had been waiting for her, the group had joined the table which sat Sasha Blouse, the brunette who had been in a sitting position during the ODMG test, Krista Lenz, a small blonde girl just short of being a goddess, Ymir, a dark freckled girl who had cozied up to Krista and gave everyone a look like she wanted to murder everyone, and Mina. Just a bit further down next to Sasha sat the raven haired girl that passed the ODMG test with flying colors, and without a doubt, Eren and a small blond who Yena assumed was the Armin kid Eren mentioned earlier, sat with her.

The seven of them talked animatedly amongst themselves, talk of training and hometowns, the latter of which both Krista and Ymir managed to evade, making Yena a bit curious. Both Sasha and Liu managed to talk (loudly) about different kinds of food, while Alessandro managed to start up a conversation with Krista, overlooked by a reluctant Ymir. It was comfortable, something she would actually want to look forward to everyday for the next three years, even if the conversations were meaningless or meaningful. Mina managed to bring the conversation back full circle, leaning over the table and looking directly at the raven haired and auburn haired kids.

“Hey, actually, you guys didn’t say where you were from.”

“I thought I was pretty loud when I introduced myself to Shadis,” Yena answered, taking in a mouthful of slop. “But we’re from Trost.”

“Ooh, cozy homes in a big city, huh?” Mina wagged her brows, a sweet smile on her face.

“Actually, we lived in a shed. With nine other homeless kids.” Luca didn’t look up from his tray, mind more than likely wandering back to all those kids back in Trost that he hoped were doing okay. Yena didn’t say a word, giving the auburn haired boy a look that even she couldn’t figure out the meaning of. Was it guilt? Sadness? Embarrassment?

The others at the table quieted down, giving the two, and each other, looks before Mina opened her mouth again. “You guys never had a home? Like at all?”

Luca and Yena looked at each other, both encouraging the other to speak first before the boy sighed and put his spoon back inside his bowl. “We both had homes. I actually used to live up in the northern districts in Wall Maria, but when I was eight I got kidnapped, and somehow ended up in Trost right before the fall. Don’t know where my parents are or if they’re even alive.”

“I lived in a house just out in the fields outside of Trost,” Yena continued. “My parents went out to the market one day when I was six and just never came home. Eventually I found out they’d been murdered, so I took to the streets.”

The table was completely quiet this time, the others just gazing at the two in both wonder and pity, until Ymir chortled out a laugh. “What, you expect us to throw you some kind of pity party now? We just asked where you came from, no need to give us a sob story lookin’ like you want your mommy.”

“Bet you’re only saying that because it hit a bit close to home,” the ravenette retorted, leaning back from her seat to eye the freckled girl. “Am I right?”

Ymir’s expression turned dark immediately, teeth gritting. “You don’t know me.”

Yena only scoffed, looking down at her plate before pushing off to Sasha’s direction. “I don’t. And I’m not pretending I do. But the only reason someone would get so defensive about a ‘sob story’ would be if they related to it in a way.” The others turned to Ymir with questioning gazes as the emerald eyed girl stood up with a stretch. “I’m gonna go sit outside.”

She left the table without another word, quietly slipping out the door and sitting on the porch leading into the mess hall. The night was quiet and calm, the summer wind thankfully cool and for once Yena was allowed to breathe without somebody hounding her. She probably shouldn’t have left just like that, she didn’t want to cause a bad impression on anybody, but she was only speaking the truth on a trivial topic. She didn’t think it would upset the taller girl that much, but if it did she would apologize later once they all made it back to the girls’ dorm.

It didn’t take long for her solitude to be interrupted, a familiar freckled boy settling down next to the ravenette with a soft smile. “You okay there?”

“Yeah, why?”

“You kinda closed the door a bit harshly, I thought you were angry or something so I wanted to come check on you.”

Yena scoffed. “I’m not a kid, you don’t need to fret over me like a mother.” She smiled a bit, gaze still set on watching the stars. “But I’m not angry or anything. Just a bit tired.”

Marco’s dark eyes scanned over Yena’s form before humming, turning his eyes to the same background she was staring at. “I guess it’s just in my nature to fret over everyone.”

“Then you have three years of fretting over people and their injuries. Welcome to the military,” Yena started laughing, and Marco’s eyes lit up, never leaving the starry backdrop that loomed over them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: ho boi i love Marco
> 
> The thing I'm trying to do with this story is not to alter the main story in any way, because my ideal OC for an anime is to make them good enough to be a background character. So yes, Yena is the main character of this story, but compared to the actual story of Attack on Titan, she'd be nothing but a random background character that the main characters would talk to every once in a while, because I'm pretty sure that you'd probably end up talking to the people you've spent three years with. Also more Yael to come soon, probably other OCs I'll make up on the spot like I did with Selma and Trent because why not. woooo~
> 
> Again thank you for reading, more chapters coming soon!


	4. Wet Dogs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added Alessandro and Liu to the stash
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> [https://sta.sh/2r08spp1s8k](url)

_**Year 847, 3 months into training** _

The rain beat down on the earth like a natural drum, the rhythm uneven and off beat and that spurred the cadets onwards, the rain beating harder and harder the promise of an early break if the storm doesn’t let up soon. Though knowing Shadis, he would probably make the poor sods train even more in the torrential downpour.

The cadets ran amongst the trees along a dirt path that gave way to mud, carrying sacks of what felt like the weight equivalent of another human being. They almost seemed to have been separated into groups, the ones leading the cadets made of those who had too much energy, driving them to go farther longer and faster. Some lagged behind that group, who were mostly made up of those whose drives were dying out, those who were getting tired but kept going. Then there was the last group, almost a good few horse lengths away from the middle of the group, who were already tired, whose drives died out long ago.

That’s the group Yena was now trudging in, body aching and lungs heaving for air. She was used to running for long periods of time, used to carrying objects when running, but never something like this. The sack on her back, whatever it was made out of, was banging itself against her, dragging her down closer into the sweet embrace of the earth, and though the invitation was tempting, she willed herself to keep moving. Last she had checked, those who accepted the invitation were put on outhouse duty for months, and though dealing with animal shit was one thing, dealing with human shit was altogether a reason to not fail this exercise.

Though with some people, it already felt like she was dealing with their shit.

Up ahead through the sheen of water she could make out the familiar build of Luca, and next to him another grudgingly familiar shape of the ashy blonde haired girl Yena had teased her friend about. It seemed in recent weeks the girl had taken a liking to Luca, which was all well and good, except for the fact that the girl had somehow seen Yena as an obstacle to her love.

Which confused the ravenette greatly. If Yael wanted to pursue Luca, who was she to get in the way? She wanted her friend to be happy, and she knew Luca had also taken a liking to the smaller girl, eating meals with her occasionally and picking her as a partner for training every once in awhile. Yena was happy her friend had found someone that could make the boy smile for hours on end, except in Yael’s case, the girl believed she couldn’t truly have Luca to herself unless ‘all opposition was eliminated’.

Those were the ashy blonde girl’s exact words, which, again, confused the hell out of the ravenette. If Yael meant that she was hoping to get rid of all of his friends just so they can be together by themselves then she would have to face absolute hell. There was no way Yena was going to let her friend, that she had faced hard times with together, get snatched and taken away by a girl the brunette had met just months ago.

Just the sight of the ashy blonde girl made Yena’s blood boil, spurring her on just a little bit to be the defining factor between the middle and the end group. All of her friends were ahead of her, and she didn’t want to be the one to drag them all down and lag behind.

One of her legs suddenly had gotten stuck, causing her whole body to jerk and be pulled back to land ass first into the mud. As if sensing the sudden failure of a cadet she was, Shadis appeared out of nowhere on horseback, shouting above the sounds of the drumming rain and splashing boots.

“GET THE FUCK BACK UP, CADET! YOU AREN’T SAVING ANYBODY BY JUST SITTING ON YOUR ASS WAITING TO BE TITAN FODDER!!”

Yena managed to pull her boot out of the sticky ground after a minute, immediately going back into a sprint. She had sat there for a few seconds too long, ending up all the way at the end of the mass of cadets. For the moment that didn’t matter to her, all she focused on was to get this exercise over with so she could get cleaned up and take a break.

Her legs felt like they were ready to fall off, and slowly she lagged farther and farther from the mass of kids, chest heaving and shoulders screaming in protest against the heavy package weighing her down. She swore she could do better than this, there shouldn’t have been any problems, so why? Why was the distance growing farther and farther? Why couldn’t she catch up?

Why was she failing?

Another twenty or so minutes later, the first half of cadets had made it back to the training grounds, immediately taking off their packs and heading to storage sheds to put them away, ready for showers or naps or just rest in general. By the time some managed to change and stand out underneath the awnings to greet their friends, the other half of cadets had finally made it, doing the same as the previous group.

Alessandro and Luca stood at the entrance of the mess hall, peering out into the growing storm and waiting for their mutual friend to return back to camp. Yael stood behind Luca, an obvious scowl on her face as she tugged on his sleeve.

“C’mon, you’re just gonna get cold standing so close to the rain like that.”

Luca continued to stare out into the wet world, “Yena’s not back yet.”

Yael’s eyebrow twitched, distaste growing on her features as she continued to tug. “She probably got stuck in the mud again. Serves her right, she talks tough but can’t even carry some weights on her back without wanting to knock out.” She let out a scoff, folding her arms against her chest and waving a hand around. “Honestly, she wants to help save humanity? The only help she’ll be is as distraction to feed Titans while the rest of us get away—”

Luca grit his teeth, rounding on the girl and grabbing her by the shirt collar. “You don’t know _shit_ about her. I recommend you stop talking now, else you’ll regret it later.”

Alessandro looked at his friend in concern, a hand coming out to rest itself on the boy’s shoulder. “She’ll be here soon. I’m sure she’s okay.” He looked back out into the scenery, a frown on his lips. “Maybe she did get stuck again, like Yael said. I know most of us got stuck a couple times.”

Luca only bit the inside of his cheek in response, eyes scanning the training grounds again. He let the girl go, arms crossing in irritation. Not a few minutes later did Yena’s small form show up underneath the heavy haze of rain, legs dragging against the ground as she made her way to the storage shed to put her pack away. She took a couple minutes until she came back out again, walking sluggishly towards the girls’ dorm before collapsing just a few feet from shelter.

Both boys immediately sprang up from their spots by the door, sprinting over to the ravenette’s form. Both slung each of her arms over their shoulders, carrying her the remaining few feet to the girls’ dorm and knocking harshly. A ginger haired girl opened the door, gasping prettily at the sight of the haggard ravenette before having a few girls bring her in and to her bed. The two were immediately ushered away, to the protests of Luca, and made their way to their respective dorm for a change of clothes. The hazel eyed brunette let out a frustrated sigh as he closed the door behind him, causing a pale blond boy and a dark brunette to look over at the two.

“Woah, you guys are soaked. Did you decide to take an extra run in the rain or something?” The blond joked.

Alessandro shook his head, pulling his wet shirt over his head. “N-no, a friend of ours, she collapsed outside after getting back from training.”

“Just now?” The dark brunette inquired. “What was she doing, playing in the forest?”

“Samuel,” the blond sighed, giving Samuel a look to make him shut up. He turned back to the other two, head tilted questioningly. “It was that Yena girl, right? The one you guys always hang out with?”

Alessandro nodded, looking over to Luca who had been silently changing throughout the whole exchange. “Do you think you have an idea what happened, Luca?”

The boy shook his head, slipping on a dry pair of trousers. “Not a damn clue. She could usually outrun anyone from the Garrison or even an MP, even while carrying someone on her back. Well, I mean she only ever ran while carrying someone once, and that was a child…” The brunette ran a hand through his hair, brows furrowing. “I don’t think weight was an issue, though. If she’s determined to run, she’ll run, no matter what.”

The blond let out a laugh, “Like I haven’t beared witness to the stuff you guys used to do before? I remember seeing you two zoom through the streets with Garrison on your tail.”

Luca stared at the boy, a low chuckle escaping his lips, “That’s right, I almost forgot. Sorry about that, Thomas.”

“In any case,” Thomas crossed his arms, a frown etched onto his face, “maybe there’s something bothering her? Or she’s sick?”

“There’s no time to be sick in the military. She’d probably say the same thing.”

“But that doesn’t mean you _can’t_ get sick,” Alessandro mumbled. “Should we look for Liu to ask her what’s wrong?”

“If Krista’s in the girls’ dorm you could just ask her,” Samuel added. “It’s a good chance she’ll be the one to look after her like the saint she is.”

Luca only nodded, bundling up his wet clothes to hang them up to dry.

※※※※

Samuel was correct to assume Krista would look after Yena, as the small blonde had stripped the ravenette of the wet clothes she wore and dried her, pulling something dry and warm onto her unconscious form. Wherever Krista was, Ymir was also there, standing off to the side with a disinterested look.

“Honestly, every chance you get to help some poor shit in need you just have to jump on in, don’t you?” The freckled girl sighed, plopping down on the bed behind Krista. “She probably deserves whatever the fuck happened to her.”

“Ymir! That’s not nice!” Krista scolded the older girl, going back to making sure Yena was all bundled up. “She’s been working hard lately, she just needs to rest.”

“Working hard my ass,” Ymir mumbled, letting out a heavy sigh and pulling Krista by the arm. “C’mon, she’s already dry. Let’s go get lunch.” Before the blonde could protest they were out the door, cape covering their bodies and making a dash for the mess hall.

After a few minutes Yena’s eyes finally fluttered open, blinking a few times to get the blurriness of her vision to die down. Her body felt too heavy to lift up, so she settled for turning her head about to look around the room. She assumed someone dragged her tired ass into the girls’ dorm after embarrassingly collapsing out in the rain. Yena looked down at her body, redressed and dry and she’d have to thank whoever bothered to redress her later. Though it made the girl just a little uncomfortable, knowing that someone else, someone she possibly didn’t know that well, having a look at the scars across her body that she wished with all her might would go away. She might be numb to the pain, but the memory of the past event haunted her, more than the looming, disturbed faces of Titans.

Of course that didn’t mean she was numb to the current pain, her legs still felt like they were ready to fall off and her chest feeling like whatever it was that she was carrying during training was making itself comfy on top of her. She needed to get up, go find her friends and tell them she’s okay, though it was so much easier said than done. Just moving her arm hurt, and she’d rather drift off back into a dreamless sleep for the time being than strain herself even more than she already was.

Just as she was ready to doze off, the door had slammed open, a sorrow-laden yell penetrating the air and causing the ravenette to wince. It was Liu, dramatic as ever.

“Yenaaaa!!! Thank god you’re okay!!” The brunette plopped her whole body onto the bed beside Yena, rolling about before sitting up and shaking the poor girl. “I thought you got eaten by a bear and your internal organs used as decoration to their little house-cave!”

“What a lovely image,” Yena groaned, bearing the pain of being shaken for the sake of her blue eyed friend. “Sorry to ruin your imagination, but I’m alive.”

“Krista said you collapsed from exhaustion,” Liu stated, face turning from emotional to concerned. “I think you pushed yourself too much this time.”

“That’s ridiculous,” the ravenette scoffed. “All I was doing was running.”

The brunette eyed her friend, flicking the raven haired’s forehead. “Yeah, but for the past week or whatever you’ve been staying out through dinner and training on your own. When was the last time you ate?”

The emerald eyed girl paused, tapping her fingers on the bed beneath her while she counted. “...Breakfast two days ago?”

Lui smacked her friend on the arm harshly before apologizing profusely when she remembered the raven haired was still in pain. Now that she had pointed it out, Krista was probably right, though more so than she would let Liu on. The last meal was indeed breakfast, but it had been more than just two days since the last time Yena had eaten a proper meal other than just pieces snatched from Sasha. Yena was focused on making herself stronger, even though it had only been a few months into training, she couldn’t ignore the fact that there were definitely some talented people in this group of trainees.

Also the fact that she got completely owned in hand-to-hand combat earlier in the month by the scary looking blonde girl.

Which upset the ravenette greatly. She usually thought she excelled at hand-to-hand combat due to all the fighting she had to do for the past eight years. She didn’t want to fall behind, so the decision to focus solely on training popped into her head which sadly resulted in lack of food and proper sleep, which leads to her current situation. Of course a lack of food wasn’t something new, and she had gone longer without food before, but she surmised that all the added exercise she wasn’t used to was what caused her to pass out, which, yeah, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out. She just wants to be difficult.

In the end the brunette managed to drag the difficult girl through the raging storm and into the mess hall, much to the pleasure of their other two friends. The past three months had basically shaped the mess hall into groups of friends, acquaintances, and loners, with the tightest of friends taking tables for themselves while others sat with people they knew, whether somewhat or to a greater degree. Yena’s little group was situated at a table that sat the group of girls they sat with those couple of months ago, just a little off to the side. They were seated towards the middle, right behind the table the Shiganshina Trio usually took up, which gave them a good view of the daily entertainment that was Eren and Jean bickering as usual. Yena had also noticed that Mina had started to sit with four boys, one of which she recognized instantly from Trost. 

The two girls made their way to the table, Liu sitting the ravenette down before running off to go get both of their lunches. The two boys in front of her gave her worrying looks, which she countered with one of annoyance. “What’s with the stupid faces?”

Luca frowned, “You looked like you dropped dead earlier, and you can barely even walk without help.”

“I’m fine,” she lied, brow twitching in annoyance. “I don’t need you coddling me.”

“I’m not coddling you, I’m just making sure you don’t inadvertently kill yourself from lack of self care.”

“So you guys were the ones that took me to the girls’ dorm then?”

Alessandro nodded, “Technically we just took you over there, a girl named Hannah was the one to actually bring you inside.”

Yena snorted, leaning over and resting her chin on the table. “Well duh, I mean you aren’t allowed in the girls’ dorm either way. I mean if I was dying you’d have to take me to the infirmary, not the dorm.” Alessandro blushed a bit from the obvious, deciding his food was interesting all of a sudden. Liu came back with two trays, literally shoving it in Yena’s face before getting herself comfy next to the ravenette. Yena reluctantly sat up, groaning inwardly at the movement of having to grab the bread and try to tear a piece off before just shoving a third of it in her mouth and leaning back down, chewing on the loaf absentmindedly.

She wasn’t in much of a mood to eat to begin with, even though she had gone days without eating, she still had to readjust to having something in her belly and whatever was left would go off to Sasha. Though she knew if it was up to her friends they’d probably force her to eat everything that was in front of her, so she was glad neither Liu nor Luca was trying to shove the hard, dry bread loaf down her throat.

The three of them around her started to talk amiably amongst themselves, a nice background noise mixed in with the hum of chatter and kitchenware that surrounded the ravenette and for a moment she felt like it was a comfortable sound to fall asleep to. Her mind didn’t drift like it usually did, nor did she really process anything anyone was saying at the moment, just focused on trying to chew the piece of bread she chewed off of the loaf without it falling out of her mouth with how slackjawed she was at the moment. Her eyes glanced about the faces at her table, drifting from her group to the group of girls next to them, and then around the room as much as she could without having to move her head too much. She was thankful for the fact that neither the suicidal asshole nor the horse-faced bastard were in the mood for arguing today, and the loudest noise there was at the moment was mostly Sasha scarfing down her food before asking others if they were going to eat their share.

It dawned on Yena that this was only lunchtime, the rain still pouring so heavily outside that she was positive that they actually had to put the horses inside the stables instead of letting them chill in an area just for themselves. She mustered the strength to pick up her head this time, looking around the entirety of the room again with curious eyes, brows knitting together when she realized it was calm.

Too calm.

“Yena?” Alessandro called, head tilted curiously at his friend. “What’s wrong?”

Yena said nothing, keeping her eyes glued to the door behind her. She lifted a hand, a signal to her friends to wait, causing the three of them to glance at each other before following the ravenette’s line of sight. It was silent amongst the four of them, almost eerily so, and it didn’t go unnoticed by the group of girls beside them.

Before anyone could open their mouths to ask, the door swung open with a loud bang, making most of the trainees jump in their seats. Instructor Shadis had walked in, eyeing all of the kids seated in the mess hall without a care in the world. His eyes narrowed, as they always did before giving orders, and he bellowed out the next few sentences without much explanation.

“You maggots have five minutes to get the fuck off of your asses and put your uniforms back on, outside, in rank.” He left just as quickly as he came, and it took a few seconds for everyone to process his orders before scrambling about and into the rain to get changed. Yena had to be piggybacked to the dorms just to make it there faster, and give or take five minutes everyone was out in rank underneath the pouring rain like the poor sods they were.

They were assigned partners for hand-to-hand combat training, and for a moment Yena had wished she could just drop to the floor and pretend she was dying just to get out from it. Unfortunately that wasn’t an option so she succumbed to her fate and faced the beige haired boy she had been partnered with and tried to ignore the protests her body was screaming at her.

The boy, she learned was Nolan, eyed her whole being, noticing the way her stance was stiff and awkward. “You alright?”

Yena nodded, dragging her foot behind her and bending her knees, fists raised. “Yeah. Let’s just start this shit before we get in trouble.”

Nolan let out a huff, rolling the wooden dagger in the palm of his hand. “If ya say so.” He gripped the object tightly, pulling the same arm up to his side while his other hand gripped the guard. He changed his stance and charged.

Immediately Yena’s hands opened up, swinging her front foot behind her and moved back, letting the boy thrust the dagger at her first before deflecting it, palm striking at the boy’s wrist and gripping before her other palm struck the boy in the abdomen. The foot she moved behind her shot out, shin hitting harshly against his knee and letting his leg give out. She used his weight to twist around him, wrist still in her grasp and forced him into the ground, her knee placed between his shoulder blades. It wasn’t until a second later every muscle in her body ached, her pale face wincing in pain.

Nolan protested from the ground, tapping the ground as a means of giving up. Yena let the poor boy go, kneeling on the ground and resting her hands on her thighs. “Sorry,” she breathed.

“Geez,” Nolan complained, rubbing his sore wrist. “What the hell? I thought you were in pain or something. No need to get crazy on me.”

Emerald eyes gazed up at the beige haired boy, flicking her head to get her wet hair out of her line of sight. He looked annoyed, as she assumed, but didn’t say much else. She wanted to say something, apologize maybe, or explain, but for what she didn’t know. There was nothing to explain or apologize for, this was training, what they needed to do, and though hand-to-hand combat didn’t really count towards a grade, she still wanted to take it as seriously as all the other training. It didn’t particularly help when all she could think of was when Annie had thrown her on her back with a dagger to the face every time combat training started, and all she wanted was to get good enough to be able to counter a simple move the blonde had done before Yena had time to react.

She didn’t even look interested, and that’s what bothered Yena the most. The fact that the small blonde was that fast and that strong when she wasn’t even in the _mood_ to fight made the ravenette wonder just how much strength the girl possessed.

Yena looked back up to the beige boy, only to notice he had wandered off to his small group of friends and started messing around with them. She looked around, also noticing how no one was with their respective partners anymore save for a select few who had actually took this training just as seriously as she did. Most of the trainees were mostly just horsing around, pretending to fight and being really over dramatic about everything, while others just swung and threw punches with about the same strength as a newborn kitten. Nobody wanted to be out here right now in the rain, and though she agreed, she knew this training was important.

It was important to know how to fight and defend yourself, not only from Titans, but from fellow humans as well. There’s enough vileness from certain people inside the Walls that could even put the Titans’ behaviors to shame, from the black market trade to human trafficking, and the fact that she had experienced it first hand while everyone else was blissfully ignorant of the disgusting practices and absence of morality that went on in the midst of humanity made Yena almost sick to her stomach. These people didn’t understand, would never understand, unless it happened to them.

Though she wasn’t one to play judge, and she knew that she knew nothing of everyone here other than what’s been told to her. For all she knew, half of these kids could have gone through similar situations, but that’s definitely not something that you’d casually discuss over dinner.

In any case, it pissed her off immensely that these people took such an important training exercise and treated it as if it was unnecessary. She could stand in front of them all and lecture them on how important it was for hours on end, but nobody would listen anyway. And in a way, she couldn’t blame them.

“Did the fucking dirt insult you or something?” A voice droned on from in front of her, and she blinked up at the ashy blond boy standing there. “You were staring pretty fucking hard at the ground for a while. It’s a bit creepy.”

Yena furrowed her brows, a frown marking her lips as she tried to pick herself up and failing. “I was just thinking.”

“Overthinking,” the boy stated, offering a hand to the ravenette. “Stop doing that, you look constipated.”

“Thanks for the compliment,” she quipped, taking the boy’s hand and pulling herself up. “So what do you want? I barely ever see you interact with anyone other than Marco, Jaeger, and that one kid with the shaved head.”

Jean scoffed, raising a brow and placing a hand on his hip. “Hah? I don’t ‘interact’ with fucking Jaeger. I’d rather eat shit.”

“Seems like you already do with the amount of shit you talk,” Yena sneered, shaking the water from her hair despite the fact it was still raining.

Jean’s brow twitched, eyes narrowing and leaning closer to growl in the ravenette’s face. “Wanna pass that by me again?”

“I didn’t know horses were that deaf,” she taunted, eyes narrowing just the same.

“Guys please,” another voice sounded from beside the two, putting hands on both of their shoulders to push them away from each other slightly. “Now’s not the time to be arguing.”

“Now’s the perfect time to argue, Marco,” Jean huffed, straightening his back and peering down at Yena. “We’re doing combat training, if we’re gonna fight might as well fight now.”

Yena frowned again, crossing her arms against her chest. “Fine, I’m all for kicking your ass, Horseface.”

Jean grit his teeth, fists clenching before pulling the ravenette by the collar of her jacket. “Stop calling me a fucking horse! Jaeger says it _one time_ and it’s like everyone’s now in on some stupid fucking joke.”

“That’s because you _are_ the joke, Kirschtein,” she spat, grabbing the boy’s wrist tightly. “Now let go of me or you’re really gonna be laughed at.”

“I’d like to see you try. You look about as scary as a puppy,” he smirked, yanking her closer so he could mock her literally right in her face. “If I’m a horse, then you’re a dog, and I’m about to trample all over you.”

“Big mistake, Horseface, _because_ —” Yena twisted Jean’s wrist, forcing him to let go of her jacket collar and pull him uncomfortably close. “Dogs are herders. They nip at the ankles to invoke control.”

Without hesitation she swung a leg back, dropping low and swinging it forward with all her drained might and landing a swift kick to Jean’s ankle, enough to sweep his foot out from under him and cause him to fall over with a yell. He landed on his ass, pulling his leg in and holding the injured limb with a pained groan. By then Yena couldn’t get up anymore, arms out on the ground to support her while her legs cramped up and refused to even move a single inch.

Marco had a small dilemma on who to help first, eyes going back and forth between the two and hands up and ready to help with uncertainty. He almost instantly sighed in relief when a familiar auburn haired brunette waltzed over, smacking the debilitated ravenette over the head.

“You get your dumbass and I’ll get mine,” Luca sighed, hoisting Yena up by two arms before looking over at Marco. “Sorry she caused such a fuss.”

Marco shook his head, helping Jean up and slinging the ashy blond’s arm over his shoulder. “No it’s okay, Jean can be a little too much sometimes.”

“The hell’s that supposed to mean?!” Jean argued, giving Marco an annoyed look. “She fucking started this shit!”

“You sound like a fucking four year old,” Yena responded, a smirk immediately set onto her lips. “Oh no, I’m sorry, like a newborn baby foal. Neigh neigh.”

Marco bit his lips together to suppress a laugh, though his shoulders gave away his amusement. Jean narrowed his eyes at both ravenettes, scowl deepening his features. “And you keep yapping away like a fucking dog. Bark bark, bitch.”

“You wanna fucking go again, Kirschtein?!”

“Let’s fucking go!”

Neither moved a muscle, one too drained to do so and the other unable to move on one foot with a possible sprained ankle. They continued to glare at each other for a few seconds more before Luca sighed heavily.

“So anyway, yeah, sorry they’re both fucking idiots, Bott.”

“No worries,” the freckled boy smiled. “I’m gonna take Jean to the infirmary, I think Yena needs to rest.”

“I’d have to take her to the infirmary too so she could rest there,” Luca mused, slinging one of Yena’s arms over his shoulder. “Let’s go, and make sure they don’t fucking fight in there either.”

Marco nodded, and walked with the auburn haired brunette and both of their companions to a small building that housed the infirmary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying my hardest to get every chapter longer and longer and this one took me so long to write because I got interested in so many more AUs and I want to die xectrfvugy i'll try to write more soon


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